Pakistani and Chinese companies joint venture pays off in Bhakkar, losses controlled in canola crop

Gwadar Pro

Bhakkar: Pakistani and Chinese companies joint venture has paid off in the Bhakkar district of Punjab as losses have been controlled in canola crop.

Pakistan’s Evyol Group have demonstrated advanced harvester attachments aimed at controlling shattering losses in canola crop in Bhakkar district.

The Evyol Group provides high-quality canola seeds developed by Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Co. to Pakistani farmers under a joint venture with the Chinese company.

“Qingfa’s HC-021C canola has 0.7 percent Erucic Acid and 15 mm/gm Glucosinolate, much lower than the global standard of 2% and 30 mm/gm, respectively. Therefore, the Chinese canola variety is dubbed as ‘00’ for having the least hazardous contents,” Zafar Iqbal, Head Certus Seeds, a division of Evyol, said during a presentation to farmers and journalists.

He added that they observed shattering losses to the tune of 200-400 kilograms per acre. ‘We informed our Chinese JV partner, which sent these advanced attachments to control the losses’, Zafar said. The optimum yield of HC-021C is around 1500-1600 kgs (kilograms) per acre,” he mentioned.

In the next phase, the Chinese partner will send small pressing machines to enable the farmers to extract canola oil at household level, he informed.

Iqbal said that Pakistan imports 4.4 million tons of edible oil worth around US $3.8 billion.

The Chinese canola variety can bridge this gap and save precious foreign reserves for Pakistan besides increasing profitability for local farmers, he maintained.

“We started selling the HC-021C seeds in 2019. So far, it is being cultivated on over 100,000 acres of land. Our target is 12.5 million acres to make Pakistan self sufficient in edible oil,” he elaborated.